Twitter is the streaming partner for NFL ‘Thursday Night Football’

The deal announced Tuesday morning gives the Twitter live video content that the San Francisco-based company hopes will draw new users. The NFL gets an outlet that enables it to put its content in front of young viewers that are bypassing cable or satellite TV subscriptions.

“Twitter is where live events unfold and is the right partner for the NFL as we take the latest step in serving fans around the world live NFL football,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “There is a massive amount of NFL-related conversation happening on Twitter during our games and tapping into that audience, in addition to our viewers on broadcast and cable, will ensure Thursday Night Football is seen on an unprecedented number of platforms this season. This agreement also provides additional reach for those brands advertising with our broadcast partners.”

The NFL experimented with streaming video last season when Yahoo streamed a Buffalo Bills-Jacksonville Jaguars contest from Wembley Stadium in London. The league said 480 million minutes of the game was streamed by users across 185 countries.